THE VOICE IN ITS RELATIONSHIP TO MUSIC; THE IMPORTANCE OF THE
SPEAKING VOICE IN VOICE CULTURE
The essence of the speaking voice, from the physiological
standpoint, and its importance as related to the mechanism of
voice production either in talking or in singing, has been
largely treated at the beginning of this book, especially in the
chapters dealing with the principles about the relationship of
the speaking and singing voice, and the determination of its
pitch and of its dimensions, like quality, volume, etc. (See
Chapters XIII and XIV.)
But the importance of the rôle played by the speaking voice,
from the _psychological standpoint_, either in dramatic art or
as psychological basis for the singing voice, although not an
integral part of our program, as previously explained, is a
matter of such concern that it is unavoidable to enter for a
moment into the field of psychology.
When the primitive man tried to give vent to his first emotion
of joy, fear, or astonishment—most probably an indefinite,
bewildered sensation—he cried out a sound which constituted the
first phonetic expression that vibrated in the air and gave rise
to speech. It was a psychological influence which inspired it,
and, no doubt, the gigantic impression which struck him—the
sight of the sun, perhaps—was the first incentive for compelling
him to express his feeling by ejaculating that sound. This
constituted the primitive form of language spoken from which
speech took origin, having as its inspiration and incitement a
psychological sensation striving for expression. Thus it came
about that the human voice has been ruled and controlled
entirely, from its very beginning, by psychology.
“Le mot, qu’on le sache,” said Victor Hugo, “est un être
vivant ... le mot est le verbe, and le verbe est Dieu.” “The
word, it must be known, is a living being ... the word is the
verb, and the verb is God.” Such an important mission has Victor
Hugo seen in the word that he compared it to God!
Aside from his poetic emphasis, certainly Victor Hugo was right.
There is no medium for expressing human sentiments or feelings
so high, so strong, and so effective as to bear comparison with
the human voice. Its power of impressiveness is incommensurable,
not only in relation to the significance of the words spoken,
but at times even independent of them, when it lies wholly and
intrinsically in the timbre and inflection of the voice itself.
Its sound is the first to strike our ears, and to arouse our
interest, which is attracted principally by its color and
quality, independent of the contents of the words. That explains
why certain great artists—Tommaso Salvini, for instance, or
Sarah Bernhardt, or Eleonora Duse, and even the celebrated
_diseuse_ Yvette Guilbert—conquered the world, often performing
for audiences who were not even familiar with their languages,
but were deeply affected by the accent, the clarity, the beauty,
the pathos, and musical color of the timbre of their voices.
This very characteristic of the human voice exercises a power on
us even in ordinary life, to the extent that we sometimes feel
repulsion or attraction for a person only because of his voice;
sometimes even on account of the sound of his name. Alexander
and Napoleon perhaps would not appeal to our imaginations as
they do if, instead of their names, they had been called
Prosdocimus and Zoroastrus.
Thus it seems obvious that voices having a melodious inflection
and beautiful timbre impress us immediately and afford us
immense pleasure, regardless of the contents of their speech.
As for the significance of the word, of which the human voice is
the supreme medium, its power of effectiveness is far more
inestimable than that of the simple sound, which, in spite of
its beauty, can never approximate the same effectiveness on
human beings as can words.
The infant expresses his first needs and sensations by
indefinite, instinctive sounds, which possess little power of
impressiveness; but the voice of a baby pronouncing for the
first time “ma-ma,” or “pa-pa” is a stirring emotion and
triumphal feeling well known to all parents.
The effect which a word of sympathy can exert on a distressed
soul cannot be equaled by any other psychological or material
means. By a word, an entire existence or a destiny can be
changed; but, that word, which possesses so much power, does not
retain its value unless the manner in which it is delivered
carries its full message. Therefore its striking power of
convincing and impressing depends principally on _how_ it is
said, which discloses the great importance of the euphonic
enunciation of the speaking voice, not only by itself, but _even
more_ in connection with the _singing voice_.
Hence the relation of the voice and the music, as it takes place
in singing, makes even more conspicuous the necessity of an
intimate relationship between the speaking and singing voice,
and the standing of the former toward the latter as a
fundamental basis for singing.
This relationship is discussed here purely from the
_psychological_ standpoint, and refers principally to the power
of effect of the words in music.
Indeed, music without words has no specific means for expressing
love, hate, fear, joy, enthusiasm, admiration, contempt, and all
the shadows of human psychology which can be represented and
portrayed so profoundly, so exquisitely and so accurately by
words alone.
Their great help in making music more effective is made evident
by certain celebrated phrases in operas, and even by entire
operas. There is no doubt that in the instantaneous and striking
success of “Cavalleria Rusticana”—the little masterpiece that
conquered the entire world in a few months—a vital part was
played by the impressive story of Verga, so beautifully and
effectively arranged in libretto form by Targioni-Tozzetti. The
imprecation of Santuzza: “A te la mala Pasqua,” and the finale:
“Hanno ammazzato a compare Turiddu,” both of which are spoken,
constitute two of the most striking and impressive points of the
opera, which no doubt swayed the audience to such spontaneous
enthusiasm that Cavalleria was marked by immediate and
triumphant success unequaled by that of any other opera.
Thus it becomes evident that the words molded into the music can
create the most intense and artistic musical expressions, and
the coöperation of the meaning of the words with the music is
the ideal ground for the growth of the most intense and complete
form of art—the singing music. This brings about the logical
deduction that, since singing music is strictly dependent on the
coöperation of the voice, we must take precautions that this
element, of such essential importance, be performed in its
highest and most perfect form.
This condition mainly depends on the correct formation of the
speaking voice, as the speaking voice in reality lies at the
root of the physiological and psychological structure of the
singing voice. At its origin, perhaps, the characteristics of
the singing voice were first suggested by the speaking voice,
which was so beautifully produced as to strike the ears of the
listeners with a musical sensation never previously felt, its
melodious quality and intonation affecting their emotions in an
astonishing manner, and conquering their primitive souls.
The speaking voice, therefore, is the foundation on which the
singing voice was built up; and this imposes upon us the
necessity of cultivating first the speaking voice as the
essential basis for beautiful and correct singing.